As funds for social care are drying up, could you afford to pay care home fees? Our guide has all you need to know

Around 200,000 elderly people have stopped receiving vital care in their home in the past four years, a new report has found.

Council budget cuts have meant funds that allow pensioners to have help to dress, wash and eat — enabling them to remain in their own homes — have dried up. And it has led to many families having to move their loved ones into a care home earlier than expected.

The Care In Crisis report by charity Age UK found that funds for social care — which is everyday support, usually at home, paid for by a local authority — have plummeted by £1.2billion since 2010/2011.

Care crisis: Funds that allow pensioners to have help to dress, wash and eat at home have plummeted by £1.2bn since 2010/2011 following council budget cuts, according to charity Age UK

It means the number of pensioners aged 65 or over receiving such care has fallen from an estimated 1,064,000 to 896,000.

Caroline Abrahams, director at Age UK, says: ‘Older people who need help and who are not getting it are being placed at significant risk, and families who care for loved ones are experiencing intolerable strain.

‘Too many older people are being left to fend for themselves when they need support.’

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Age UK found fees and charges to councils for care have rocketed by 20 per cent.
Janet Davies of Symponia, a professional body for care home fee advisers, says: ‘If the elderly person is unable to cope without care at home, then it could speed up their going into a home.

‘This could work in the council’s favour, because if the person owns their property, then they will likely have to fund their own care.’

Major reform of the care system is set to take effect in April 2016, and a Care Bill is in the final stages of Parliament.
But going into care will remain a huge financial burden on the elderly and their families.

Old age: Research from Bupa says that many people head into retirement without planning how to pay for care

Some 160,000 people go into care homes each year, with nearly half — 70,000 — paying their own fees, research by analyst Laing Buisson shows.
The annual cost has hit an average of £27,600 nationwide, but can rise to as much as £40,000 in the South-East — and much more in London.

As it stands, anyone whose financial assets are worth more than a benchmark — £23,250 in England, £23,750 in Wales, and £25,250 in Scotland — has to pay some or all of their care costs.

The Government plans to boost this minimum threshold from £23,250 to £118,000.
At the same time, it wants to cap lifetime care costs at £72,000 in England. Its big idea is that the new cap will make long-term care much more affordable for those with modest savings.

Money Mail, in association with Bupa, has produced an essential guide to care services and the crucial decisions families have to make about choosing what kind of support their loved ones will need, and how to pay for it.
It aims to help families through every step of the process, and point them in the direction of independent help.

Getting care paid for by a local authority is not simple. Councils run a slide rule over the family finances of anyone who asks for, or needs, long-term care funding.
This allows them to work out just how much you need to contribute.

However, many families are caught out by the complexity of fees, means-testing eligibility for state funding and health reviews.
In the worst cases, it can mean that some care home residents are eligible for financial help one year — and then don’t qualify in the next.

The vast majority don’t even know where to start when the possibility of care for a family member raises its head.
According to Symponia, only one in ten families take any form of advice before putting an ailing parent into care.

Research from Bupa says that many people head into retirement without planning how to pay for care in their old age.
It found that nearly half of those aged 65 or over simply assume their care in old age will be funded by the NHS or the local authority; one in four don’t have any idea of how it will be funded.

Most homeowners end up paying towards their care, whether they rent out their property or use the proceeds from its sale — often after their death — to cover bills.
Trying to give away your home to your children or put it into a trust to avoid its inclusion for means-testing is becoming increasingly difficult.